Saint Bishoy the Great is the founder of the monastery called after his name

in  Wadi El-Natroun.   His name is   “Bishoy” in Coptic,  the equivalent  of

“Sammy,”  meaning just. In  French, his name is St.  Paisious, and the church

mentions  him in the  liturgy as “The  Perfect Man, the  Beloved by our Good

Savior.”  (al-ragol al-kamil habeeb  mokhalisona al-saleh) He is also called

“The Star of the Wilderness” (kawkab el-barieah).

 

Our saint was born 320 A.D. around the  Nile’s Delta in Egypt. His righteous

mother raised him up, after his father’s death, along with his six siblings.

God has rewarded   his mother for   her well-upbringing of  her children  by

sending to her His  angels and chose Bishoy to  become a servant for Him for

the rest of his life.

 

In 340 A.D., when Bishoy was 20 years old, he went to the “Isqiet” wilderness

and became a student of Saint Bimwa, who was a student of Saint Abu Makar the

great. Over  there, Bishoy became a spiritual  friend of  the saint who was

famous for obedience, St. Yuhanis  the  dwarf—who planted  a dry stick  in

obedience of his teacher Saint Bimwa and it grew and  became a fruitful tree

through the blessing of his obedience.

 

When Saint Bimwa departed, God’s Angel appeared to Saint Bishoy and informed

him that God wants him  to live in  solitude in the neighboring region, east

of  Saint Yuhanis’ place,  because he will become  a  father and guidance to

many monks.

 

Saint Bishoy obeyed and lived in a cave (still exists to  date in the famous

Saint  Mary’s monastery in  El-Surian). For the strength of Saint Bishoy’s

love of our Good  Savior, he wanted to continue his conversation with God

throughout prayer as long as possible so he used to tie his hair with a rope

attached to the ceiling of his cave to wake him up if he fell asleep so that

he continues his prayer to his beloved. And  for that reason, he was called

“the Beloved by our Good Savior.”

 

Also, because of how much he liked prayer and meditation for God, he used to

forget to  eat the earthly food for  many days, sustaining himself  with the

spiritual food of prayer, meditation, and reading the living word of God.

 

Every person he got to meet used to get filled with peace, happiness,  and

assurance and went away content.  As a result, he had   a following of  2400

people who lived the life of continuous happiness under his guidance, and

they lived in scattered caves in the mountain. They also used to gather

around Saint   Bishoy “like bees surrounding honey” as some of the old

manuscripts stated.

 

God’s promise to Saint Bishoy was fulfilled when He appeared  to him when he

first started living in his cavern, that “the entire mountain will be filled

with worshipers under his guidance.”

 

Saint Bishoy was an energetic worker who ate from the work of his own

hands.  He once said  to his disciples “I did  not eat food  provided by any

person… my children, work with  your hands to   sustain yourselves and  to

make enough to give to charity as well.”

 

It is also mentioned about his defense of the faith when he saved one of

the teachers from a religious heresy without harming his feelings using a

simple, wise way. He won him and won all of his following as well.

 

He was not just pleasant, humble, emotionally sensitive, and sensitive to

others’ feelings,  but also he used to respect everyone’s humanity and his

loving heart always listened to the poor and needy. For that, he was called

“the Perfect, Righteous Man.” (al-ragol al-bar al-kamil).

 

With a humble heart, he used to carry all the trouble of his disciples and

their weaknesses, while fasting so that he will lead them to the life of

strive. He used to pray intermittently so  that God will keep his disciples’

souls in the faith.

 

Because of his humbleness, he used to wash the feet of strangers and visitors

without knowing who they are or even looking at their face. For that reason,

Jesus appeared  to him posing  as a  stranger  (the same way he  appeared to

Abraham in the Old Testament) and Saint  Bishoy washed His holy feet and he

did not know Him until he saw the scars of the crucifixion on His feet.

 

And this is the distinctive picture of Saint Bishoy’s monastery, and it does

not only show the humbleness and the loving of the monks for all people, but

also to show that meekness and honest love make God very close to us.

 

Because of the  sympathy of Saint Bishoy’s heart,  he carried an  old man in

the road and later he found that He was the Lord Jesus Christ.  Jesus then

promised him that his body whom  he kept pure  and served through it all the

people and the  needy, and controlled it by  spiritual  exercises, will stay

without decay because it carried Him.

 

And, indeed, Saint Bishoy’s body is still without decay to date, and without

being preserved chemically in any way or mummified.

 

It was also  mentioned  about him  that he did   not hurt the feelings of  a

person who was talking  during one of  Saint Bishoy’s sermons, and when that

person saw the capacity of Saint Bishoy’s good heart  he stopped talking and

apologized.

 

Saint Bishoy was also   spiritually  detached from money  and  materialistic

things.  He refused what one of  the rich people brought  to  him one day of

gold and silver (since God informed him of this devil’s  trick who wanted to

keep him away from worship). So Saint Bishoy advised the  rich man to return

with his gold and silver and distribute it amongst the poor and the needy to

win God’s blessing for him.  When the  rich man left   him and Saint Bishoy

returned  back  to   his cubicle,  the   devil cried   at  him saying:  “Oh,

you!…   you always  ruin my tricks    with your modesty”   So Saint Bishoy

answered  him  in meekness  and  vulnerability saying: “Since  you  fell, oh

devil and God spoils all your tricks against His children.”

 

Saint  Bishoy loved his spiritual children and interacted with them as a

loving father.  He used to cry for his sins like Armia the prophet to the

point he was called  Saint Bishoy the Armenian  (Bishoy  El-Army). He kept

striving in prayer for one of his disciples who sinned until he came back

repenting to God.

 

Many  times Jesus  appeared  to Saint Bishoy because  of  his great love for

Him. Saint Bishoy used to know many matters because of his prophetic

spirit. Through it, he knew the coming of Saint Ifram the Syrian from Syria

before he actually came to visit him when he heard about his great

spirituality.

 

Saint Bishoy asked God  to give him a Syrian  tongue so that he will be

able to speak with the Syrian guest, and so it was granted to him.

 

When  the Berber attacked  the wilderness in 407 A.D.,  Saint Bishoy did not

want to stay at the monastery  so that one  of the Berber  will not kill him

and therefore the Berberine will lose his soul for it.  So Saint Bishoy went

to   Upper  Egypt,  Ansena,   and  befriended Saint   Boula  El-Tammohie and

established a big monastery that still exists to date.

 

On  July   15, 417 A.D., Saint  Bishoy   departed and was  buried   with his

spiritual friend, the meek Saint Boula   (currently Mallawie). Then,  Pope

Yusab I, the 52nd Patriarch 830-849 A.D., moved Saint  Bishoy’s pure body to

its monastery at Wadi  El-Natroun on December 13th 841  A.D., Kiahk  4th 557

A.M., after building its huge walls.

 

On the feast of Saint Bishoy’s  departure on July  15 (8 Abib) of each year,

H.H.H. Pope Shenouda the 3rd makes sure to lead the celebrations in honor of

the great Saint and to join the monks of the monastery in  their joy for the

feast of their intercessor.  H.H.H., along   with  Anba  Sarabamon,   the

monastery’s Bishop, carry  out the preparation of the  herbs and “henout” to

scent the pure body in the midst of  prayers, chants, and hymns of thousands

of  visitors who pilgrim  to the monastery  over a period  of  10 days (July

5-15)  to join  in the joy  of celebration  and to receive  the blessing and

intercession of the great saint.

 

The monastery has prepared guest houses to accommodate the guests and

visitors. They are equipped with what is needed for their rest during the

celebration period until the return back joyous,  full of spiritual

blessings and the benefits of the intercession of the great Saint Bishoy.

 

 

فيلم القديس الأنبا بيشوي حبيب المسيح | Movie Saint Anba Bishoy Habib Al-Maseeh